


Second Chances at Midnight

by LouiseLouise



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Day of the Dead, F/M, Getting Back Together, Ghosts, Second Chances, a little bit of angst a little bit of fluff, minor allusions to Buck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27329437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouiseLouise/pseuds/LouiseLouise
Summary: Eddie doesn’t really need that one special night to remember the people he loved and lost, but his emotions still feel more intense then. He doesn’t really need an altar to honor the woman he still misses dearly, but he still makes one, with his son. He never believed in ghosts like in the movies.But Shannon appears in front of him, and his entire universe changes.
Relationships: Eddie Diaz/Shannon Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Kudos: 18
Collections: 911 and 911 Lone Star Halloween Fest 2020





	Second Chances at Midnight

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [9-1-1 Halloween Fest on tumblr](https://911halloweenfest.tumblr.com/) and inspired by [this prompt list](https://wholelottaprompts.tumblr.com/post/631333432624021504/friends-to-lovers-prompts-do-you-think-they).
> 
> Thank you [marciaelena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marciaelena) for the beta and the support! All remaining mistakes are mine, English is not my first language.

“I don’t think my heart can take watching you love someone else again,” Shannon says. 

She looks pale and tired but that’s probably to be expected for a ghost, Eddie thinks. 

The room didn’t suddenly get cold or foggy when she appeared, like in the movies. One minute Eddie’s alone in the kitchen and the next she’s just there, leaning against the counter like she used to do back in El Paso, with the moonlight illuminating her face. 

He missed her, so much. 

She’s not looking at him, fingers busy glossing over the marigold flowers he and Christopher chose to decorate the little altar by the window. They didn’t have one the past year because Eddie’s heart was too broken and full of anger and at the time, all he wanted was to ignore that day, ignore the reality that was making him want to scream his pain out.

With time and help, anger and denial started to fade and some sort of acceptance to settle, though seeing her in front of him, wearing the red blouse she loved, is bringing back memories, and the nostalgia is a reminder that he’ll always feel a little broken inside.

He wishes he could hold her, feel the warmth of her body in his arms, the beating of her heart against his. But her heart doesn’t beat anymore, and if he could touch her, her skin wouldn’t be warm, anyway. 

She’s here, but she’s not, and Eddie needs to not forget that.

“I don’t think my heart can take watching you love someone else again,” Shannon says again, because she knows her husband, knows he’s lost in his thoughts, still processing her presence beside him. “But I know you deserve it,” she adds with a sad smile. “So I’m going to go, and let you be happy.”

She just got here and she’s leaving already. She’s leaving again and even if Eddie’s grown since the last time, he’s not sure he can handle losing her one more time, no matter how much he thought he was at peace with her death. 

“What about Christopher? What about our son?”

“What about your new life, Eddie? You’ve started building something, don’t you want to give it a shot?”

“Christopher needs you.”

 _I need you_ , he doesn’t say.

“I don't think he needs me anymore, Eddie. He has you now. I know how much you love him, and you’re not going anywhere, right?”

Eddie opens his mouth to answer, but he’s cut by a voice coming from the hallway.

“I need you all the time,” Christopher says, making Eddie and Shannon both startle and turn towards the door. 

“Oh baby, come here,” Shannon says, crouching down to meet her son’s eyes, and when she opens her arms he leaps right into them and holds her back tightly.

So hugs are a yes after all, Eddie thinks, feeling a small prick of jealousy blooming in his chest.

“I’ll always be in your heart, Christopher. You know that, right?”

“But I want you to stay for real,” Chris says, tears starting to run down his cheeks.

“Can you?” Eddie asks before Shannon has time to answer.

Shannon lifts her head to look at him, biting her lip. “Eddie, I love you, and I always will, but--”

“What if… what if the reason you wanted to leave doesn’t-- I mean, if I don’t… with...” Eddie stutters, trying to make himself clear while not saying too much in front of their son. Christopher doesn’t know yet that Eddie fell in love again. Eddie’s not even sure what to call those feelings so no one knows yet, not even the one he loves. “I would give it up. I’d do anything, if it means we have you forever.”

“I know,” she says, standing up and letting go of Chris, except for his hand now intertwined with hers. She opens her free arm, silently asking Eddie to come closer and he doesn’t hesitate, hugging her like there’s no tomorrow. Because chances are there won’t be a tomorrow for them, another opportunity. 

“I know, but it’s not fair to you,” she says, tilting her head. “To either of you.”

He knows she’s not talking about Chris. She’s talking about the one who makes his heart beat faster and his smile grow wider everytime they see each other. She’s talking about the secret he’s been keeping from everyone. 

He’s not ready yet to share his feelings, to take a chance and hope they’re requited. And maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe he can make it work with her. Maybe this is how they get their second chance.

“I would follow you this time, if I could,” Eddie says, tears starting to fill his eyes. “I would leave everything for you, I swear.”

“Dad! It’s not nice to swear,” Christopher says, making Eddie and Shannon laugh.

The sound of her laughter is like magic to Eddie’s ears. She has that smile on her face, the one that made him fall in love with her an eternity ago. How could he let her go ever again when she’s smiling this way? When she no longer looks pale and tired, but radiant and happy.

“Okay, maybe I can stay a little longer,” she says, ruffling her son’s hair.

“You can stay forever,” Chris says.

“We’ll see about that.” She turns towards Eddie. “We’ll see about that,” she repeats, nudging her face into the crook of his neck. 

*

Later that night, when it’s almost day and Christopher is fast asleep again, she sits beside Eddie on the couch.

“I know who your heart is beating for, Eddie. I know it won’t go away just because you decided otherwise.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he says. He can put those feelings into a box and hide them away before they grow too much. Feelings come and go, family is forever, so he’ll do whatever it takes to have their family back. “My heart’s always beaten for you, Shannon. I love you, I never stopped.”

“I know,” she says, smiling. “I’m staying until our son is ready to let me go. That’s the time we have.”

“You’re his mother, he’ll always need you.” _I’ll always need you_ , Eddie thinks. He’s not sure if it’s true or if he’s holding on to something familiar, something comfortable. He’s never done well with changes, not back then and not now. But he still loves her, that he’s sure of.

“If I stay too long I’m scared I’ll never be able to let him go, Eddie.” Her smile finally fades as she admits it, tears rolling down her face. “Ever.”

“Then don’t.”

“But I should, that’s how it works. That’s how death works.”

Eddie leans in, tugging her into his arms and holding her tight. “Maybe it doesn’t have to. You wouldn’t be here tonight otherwise, right?”

“What if this is a mistake?”

“Then we’ll figure it out, together. As a family.”

She wipes a streak of tears with her hand, slowing down her breathing until she smiles again, small and hesitant.

“I’m staying until I’m ready to let you go, then,” she says. “But what I said earlier still stands. You deserve to be happy, with a real living and breathing person. And they deserve to know how it feels to be loved by you.”

“You deserve that too,” Eddie says. He hasn’t always been the best at showing her and he’s not going to miss this opportunity to make things right.

“I don’t want you to regret it.”

He knows how much it cost her to say that, and he knows she’s right. He can feel all that love inside him, bursting at the seams of his heart, begging to be set free, begging for him to trust again, and he knows it’s not all for her. But he’s not ready to accept that. And he’s not ready to lose her, not yet. Not again.

“I won’t,” Eddie answers. 

They just need one more year. One more year of making memories as a family. One year to make the best of each day so there are no regrets left. Maybe then they’ll be able to say goodbye. One year, till the next Day of the Dead.

Or the next one.

Or the next.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! You can find it on tumblr [there](https://theladyandthewolves.tumblr.com/post/633600877854392320/second-chances-at-midnight).  
> Kudos, emoji and comments warm my soul and help me write more ♥


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